The Emerald's guardian
by supernova-2008
Summary: Oneshot. Alone atop the Emerald Altar, Knuckles begin to reminisce about the Master Emerald, and the past.


The Emerald's guardian

"For as far back as I can remember I've been living on this dark island – always guarding the Master Emerald from anything that could harm it. I don't know why I was given this job…why it was my fate…destined to be here…forever."

- Knuckles (Sonic Adventure)

- - -

Life…some people wander through it with no purpose, no direction and never really feeling it. In turn, some people live it to the fullest and are grateful for every breath they take, never taking their existence for granted. Which of those categories do I fall into? I guess you could say it's a little of both.

You see, I'm a guardian. Not just any guardian, you must understand – I'm not someone's parent, or partner, or anything as ordinary or banal as that. No, I'm the guardian of the fabled Master Emerald, one of the last relics of the ancient Warrior Race of Echidna's. Some called them the greatest warrior race to have ever lived…but I know otherwise. During their era, they had discovered the legendary Chaos Emeralds, and their leader, Pachacamac, devised a means to use their power to defeat the enemies of the Echidna tribe.

However, his daughter, Tikal, opposed this idea, and so begged him to reconsider his actions. Blinded by his greed, Pachacamac shoved her aside, and, with his army, attempted to ransack the Emerald alter upon which I now spend most of my time, and take the Emeralds. Unfortunately, they did not consider who might be guarding the largest of the Emeralds atop the altar, and so were apparently slain by it.

In a desperate move, Tikal sealed both the creature and herself inside the Master Emerald, where they lay dormant for many centauries. You all probably know what happened next. Chaos, the creature, escaped from the Master Emerald, and very nearly destroyed the world. Thanks to the efforts of a certain blue hedgehog, this crisis was averted, and the now calm Chaos, along with Tikal, departed from this world, perhaps to travel back to their own time, where they could now live in peace.

Peace…now there's a funny word. As you can see, many people have different opinions about what peace actually means. Take Pachacamac, for example. He thought the path to peace was to crush your enemies with sheer force, and just look where that got him. Ah well, I suppose I'm not one to judge. In cases of protecting people and keeping them safe, I usually fall back on using my strength. Some people call me headstrong, foolish, a bit of a knucklehead (if you'll forgive the pun), and that I'm easily tricked. I suppose that they are right…I live alone, I do not have the luxury of frequent socializing, and thus often fall victim to those who mix lies with their words in order to use me for their own gain.

Ah well, such is life, I suppose. You learn from your mistakes, and you do not repeat them. Aha, it seems no matter how hard I try, the Master Emerald always seems to make trouble for me.

One time, ol' green here was stolen by a jewel thief called Rouge. She attempted to flee into the desert, but I know that place like the back of my hand, and so cut her off. Of course, Robotnik showed up and attempted to steal the Master Emerald (which he tried once before, back in the good ol' days)…and being its guardian I had to take drastic measures to ensure that he wouldn't be able to use it for his own evil ends. On reflection, shattering it into pieces _probably_ wasn't the best method of protecting it, but hey, whatever works, right?

The most current act of the Master Emerald was to try and avert the space colony ARK from crashing into the Earth. While it managed to stop the Emeralds from going berserk, there was still the matter of the Biolizard to deal with. As per usual Sonic rose to the occasion, aided by Shadow, and together, they both saved the day…but at a price. Shadow was pushed to his limits in using the Chaos Emeralds for the first time, and the act of using Chaos Control (a method of teleportation that requires a Chaos Emerald) to transfer the ARK to a safe location was more than he could bear…we have not seen him since.

And now, here I am. After the events of the ARK, and Shadow's death, I returned here, to guard the Master Emerald, just like I always have. Loneliness is not a factor in this job, let me assure you. The Master Emerald is enough of a companion for me, and the radiant beauty of it is enough to keep my spirits up during the bad times. Still, I suppose it would be nice to have someone to talk to who can actually, well…speak, ya know?

Such is the life of a guardian…you guard, you protect, and you are expected the shoulder the burden without complaint. I still don't understand why my ancestors left me here on this island, alone, to protect the Master Emerald, and why they could not have left me with an explanation as to why I must do this alone. Perhaps, it is some sort of rite of passage, and perhaps it is merely because I am the last of my kind, protecting the last relics of my lineage…perhaps, I was not meant to have an answer.

The air is growing cold now, and the sun will rise soon…perhaps I will go for a walk around the island, just to stretch my legs a bit.

Slowly, though, the outline of what appears to be a plane makes it way through the dense clouds that cover the outline of the island. Making my way down the stone steps, I walk on over to the edge, peering up at it, trying to make it out.

Suddenly, a voice calls out from it.

'Hey, Knuckles!' the voice shouts, ringing out in the cold morning air.

Ah, so that's who it is. A small familiar grin appears across my face. The voice belongs to none other than Miles Prower, AKA –

'Tails,' I laugh, as the tornado screeches to a halt, 'What brings you to my island?'

'Sorry Knuckles,' says the young fox, a note of urgency in his voice, 'This isn't a social call, take a look at this!'

He hands me a small sheet of paper, covered in writing.

'What is this-' I start to say, cut off by the sudden appearance of a hologram from the surface of the paper.

Another familiar voice emanates from the also familiar figure of the hologram…Robotnik.

'Muhahahaha!' it laughs in an over-the-top fashion, 'Guess what, Sonic Heroes? I've finally developed the ultimate weapon! In three days, I will conquer the world! Think you can stop me? Muhahahaha!'

'Sonic…Heroes?' I say, handing the note back.

'I don't know what it means either, but it must have something to do with Sonic!'

'You don't say…'

'C'mon, we gotta go find him!'

'Yeah, yeah…give me a second, I'll be right with you.'

I turn back to the Emerald for a moment, taking in its radiance. It seems so strange to be leaving it behind to go on another adventure with Sonic and the others, to be apart from it for any amount of time.

I'll probably be on this floating island forever, guarding the Master Emerald again. I may not know the whole story behind this, but perhaps, it's better that way.

Something's are just meant to be, and this is one of them.

I'm at peace once more.

The End.

AN: That should suffice for my first one-shot, wouldn't you say? Thoughts and constructive criticisms are welcomed!


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